


Bite Down

by dexsnursey (nerdy_farm_girl)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: (done by the LAX bros aimed at nursey), Alcohol, Competency Kink, Farmer & Dex friendship, Getting Together, Halloween Costumes, Jack-o'-lanterns, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nursey is So Extra in this fic Im sorru, Pie, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Sloppy Makeouts, Slow Burn, Slut Shaming, apple picking, bed sharing, fuck the LAX bros, reno 911 costumes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-23 19:15:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8339482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdy_farm_girl/pseuds/dexsnursey
Summary: It's the Fall of 2016, and the air is filled with chirps, UST, and the scent of AXE drifting from the LAX House. The weekends are filled with pumpkin carving, costume parties, and enough shenanigans to keep the SMH team on their toes. Oh, and hockey, there's a little bit of that. Dex and Nursey are sharing the attic now, have become kind of sort of best friends, and spend a lot of time pining. Secretly. For each other.Or basically, a normal autumn in the Haus.(Written for 13 Days of Halloween)





	1. You Don't Have to Look Any Further

**Author's Note:**

> Check Please and all the characters belong to Ngozi, thank you for giving us such a wonderful universe.
> 
> Fic/Chapter titles from Bite Down - Bastille (ft HAIM)

Derek Nurse has never been a huge fan of pumpkin carving. Sure, the end result is pretty nice, but pumpkin stems are prickly, and the pumpkins themselves are heavy and dealing with the guts is more than gross. Not to mention the fact that his designs never come out as cool as he imagines them. He sighs and tips back in his chair, purposefully ignoring the way Chowder tenses and follows his movements with his eyes. He’s not _that_  clumsy, he’s not going to tip the fuck - The back legs of the chair wobble and he grabs for the table, mentally apologizing to Chowder for ever doubting him. His pumpkin’s lopsided smile mocks him and his internal dialogue. 

God. He hates carving pumpkins.

Nursey reaches for his can of PBR, trying to pretend like the chill in the air doesn’t make him want to go burrow under the blankets in his dorm. Instead, he’s sitting out in front of the house in a rickety folding chair, hands freezing from the nasty pumpkin goop, and not wearing _nearly_  enough warm clothing for the circumstances. When he was a kid, his mom used to let him carve his pumpkin at the kitchen table, but after the Pumpkin Gut Incident of 2015, Bitty had banned pumpkin carving from his kitchen. Nursey had tried to protest, but since he _might_  have been the instigator of PGI-2015, his opinion was not valued whatsoever. So he sucked it up and helped Dex and C move the pong table outside, and maybe stared a little when Dex carried three folding chairs up the basement steps with one arm. You know, the usual.

Speaking of Dex… Nursey never really considered Dex to be artistic, and he’s not, not in the drawing and painting and singing kind of way. But the way his jack-o-lantern is shaping up, you’d think art was his thing. While Nursey had scooped the guts out of his pumpkin sloppily and as quickly as possible, Dex had spent almost an hour cleaning it out and carefully shaving the insides down. (Not to mention that he even separated out the seeds like Bitty had requested). And sure, Dex printed his design off the internet, but even though it’s traced, it takes a certain amount of skill to carve a sail boat and waves into a pumpkin. He’s not just hacking into it like Nursey did either, no, there’s all this shaving and layers and meticulous details that kind of makes Nursey want to die.

Or just like… rip Dex’s clothes off.

Because apparently, he has a _thing_. A competency thing. And a passionate thing. And a flannel thing. Or possibly just a Dex _thing_. Which is really a thing he wishes wasn’t a thing.

A sharp pain to his shin jolts him back to reality, and his chair crashes back down onto four legs. Across the table Chowder winks at him, because he’s an asshole sometimes, before proudly holding his pumpkin up for Nursey to see.

“Wow C,” Nursey smirks. “You really went out of the box with this one.” 

“Shut up Nursey,” Chowder huffs, setting down his pumpkin (complete with a shark carving, obviously) carefully down on the table. “Lemme see yours if it’s so great.” 

Nursey shrugs and turns his Classic ™ jack-o-lantern around, enjoying the way Chowder’s expression changes as he clearly fights between chirping him and praising his nonexistent skillz. Letting Chowder continue to struggle with that, Nursey pushes himself to his feet. Grabbing his beer, he ambles around the table, leaning up against the back of Dex’s chair.

“You’re really goin’ for it brah,” he says, letting one hand rest on Dex’s shoulder. Surprisingly, Dex doesn’t shake him off, which is… different. There’s a part of Nursey that wants to push his luck, wants to squeeze his fingers and feel the muscle beneath them, wants to rub at the knot he just _knows_  lives towards the base of Dex’s neck. But Dex is also holding a very large knife, and he really doesn’t want to push his luck.

“I used to enter the town wide contest back home,” Dex explains. “I mean, it wasn’t big or anything but… it’s soothing. Plus my mom always grows pumpkins in her garden anyways.”

Nursey hums, and doesn’t move his hand, and Dex keeps doing his thing, and he kind of maybe wants to stay like this forever. Except Chris Chow is smirking at him again. Honestly, this kid acts all sweet (and he _is_ sweet, he’s the most genuine friend Nursey’s ever had), but he’s still kind of an asshole sometimes. He flips Chowder of with the hand curled around his beer, scowling when Chowder starts making kissy face at him. 

“I’m gonna go find some candles,” Nursey says, regretfully breaking contact with Dex. Chowder’s still smirking at him, but he doubts he’d  _say_  anything to Dex about like… feelings, so he just grins back before heading inside the Haus.

It takes him awhile to find enough candles, darkness having settled over the yard by the time he makes it back outside. Chowder and Dex, along with Bitty and Tango, have lined up their pumpkins on the front step. They place candles inside and light them, standing in a group in the front yard to admire them. Dex leaves a space for Nursey beside him, their shoulders pressing firmly together for a moment. Nursey slings and arm around Dex’s shoulders and ruffles his hair, wrapping his other arm around Chowder’s waist.

Surrounded by his best friends and the crisp fall air, he thinks that maybe pumpkin carving isn’t all that bad after all. 


	2. I've Been Waiting Here For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nursey dresses up as a bunny.
> 
> Dex dies.
> 
> He's okay, but he's dead.
> 
> (also Caitlin Farmer is amazing and should be worshiped)

Before college, Dex had never really been all that into Halloween. He stopped trick-or-treating once he started fifth grade, too cool to dress up and too afraid of his mother’s wrath to try and mooch candy without an adequate costume. After a few years it lost it’s appeal anyways, and trying to steal as much candy from his younger siblings became his main goal.

During college… he still kind of hates Halloween.

He’s not all that creative when it comes to thinking up costumes. His favorite characters from TV or books aren’t distinctly recognizable, and unfortunately he can’t get away with going as a hockey player with the group of assholes he calls friends. Not to mention that’s there’s not just _one_  costume party, there’s at least _three_ , and repeating costumes is not allowed.

It’s year three of dealing with this nonsense, and Dex is _tired_. 

“Yo, what do ya think?” Nursey asks, from what sounds like their closet. Dex isn’t sure, but looking would require rolling over, and it’s probably not worth the effort.

“Why would you even ask me?” He grumbles instead. There’s no answer, and the back of his neck starts to prickle with awareness. He waits a few more seconds, just in case, before finally giving in and flipping over. 

His ears are burning before he even really comprehends what he’s seeing, and by the time he finally gets the full picture, he’s sure his cheeks are fire engine red too. “What… why…” He trails off as Nursey’s smirk widens into a smug grin, the one that makes Dex’s skin feel too tight and his fingers twitch.

“Bits wanted to break out his… bunny costume again,” Nursey says, pulling absently at the way too tight - and way too short - gray shorts encasing his thighs. Oh god. “Convinced me to join him.” Nursey does a little twirl, and Dex kind of wants to die. He has a little fluffy _tail._ And ears. And the v-neck is deep enough that there’s… cleavage and chest hair and _god_. What did he do in a past life to deserve this fresh hell?

“That’s great,” he croaks, collapsing back down into his pillows in hopes of finding death there. Maybe he can pretend to be sick or something, and he won’t have to leave the attic or his blanket nest ever again. 

“I’m headin’ downstairs bro,” Nursey continues. “Farmer needs help on the tub juice.” Dex doesn’t answer, because he’s currently having a little _crisis_ , and honestly doesn’t give two shits about _tub juice_. But apparently Nursey has missed that fact. “Weren’t you and C gonna try and wire up the speakers that Tango found last week?” 

Dex grunts into his pillow, and Nursey must take that as an affirmative, because the door closes softly a moment later. He allows himself to enjoy the quiet for a few minutes, considering climbing out the window in a little bit and just jumping into the darkness so he doesn’t have to watch Nursey and his stupid face parade around in his bunny costume. Hanging out in the reading room is an even better (and less dramatic) plan, and he’s considering trying to sneak out when the attic door opens with a bang. It’s unlike Nursey to to make that sort of entrance, so Dex lifts his head just enough to see who it is.

“No.” He groans, glaring down at the one and only Caitlin Farmer. “I don’t know what you want but the answer is no.”

“Funny,” Cait smirks, evilly. “But that doesn’t work for me. Get your pathetic ass down here and put on your costume.”  

“I don’t _have_  a costume,” Dex huffs, even as he rolls off the top bunk, landing on the floor in a heap of blankets. It’s not that he’s afraid of Caitlin Farmer. Except he’s totally afraid of Caitlin Farmer. 

“That’s okay, I brought one for you,” she says, all faux cheerful and shit. Dex kind of hates her. (Except that he loves her, even if Freshman William Poindexter never would have imagined that one of his best friends would be some volleyball girl he ran into on the quad). He narrows his eyes, watching as she pulls what look suspiciously like his own hockey pads out of a bag. 

“What. Are you doing.” He can’t even bring himself to use inflection at this point, not with the bad, bad feeling crawling up his spine.

“You’re gonna be a hockey player, Will,” she says with a too big smile, wrapping her fingers around his arm and dragging him mercilessly to his feet. “Come on, let me help you.” She starts to try and pull off his shirt, and maybe it would be weird if she wasn’t treating him like an actual five year old. He bats her hands away, too confused to even worry about the way he’s undoubtedly blushing.

“We’re not allowed to be hockey players,” he mumbles, tugging off his t-shirt anyways. “I already tried that once.” 

“You’re gonna be a _sexy_  hockey player,” Caitlin grins. She is actually the worst. “I even texted Adam and Justin to make sure it was okay, and they said that since you’re upholding the tradition of d-men matching costumes, and since it’s a _sexy_  version, you’re allowed.”

“What - hey stop - Nurse and I are _not_  matching what are you…” He trails off, jaw dropping as the reality of it all sets in. “Nope.” Dex grabs for his t-shirt hastily, only for Cait to grab it first. “Come on, this isn’t _fair_. I’m not - Nursey’s not - what about Derek, Cait? Did he even agree to this?”

Cait just gives him another _look_ , before shoving the pads into his chest. “If you put these on and stop whining, I _might_  let you wear a jersey. The original plan was just pads and compression shorts.” 

Dex hates her guts.

Fifteen minutes later, and Dex is being dragged down stairs by Cait, costume complete with tall hockey socks, short athletic shorts (probably left from the days of Shitty), his pads, a cropped jersey (also from Shitty - he apparently whined to much and couldn’t get a full jersey), a backwards hat, and of course, a hockey stick. The whistles start up immediately from the assembled hockey team members, and Dex just prays that his blush stops somewhere around his collarbone and doesn’t decide to keep going. Cait grins at him one last time before racing back upstairs to change into her own costume, which is _probably_  going to be a poodle skirt, based on the leather jacket and slicked back hair Chowder is rocking.

“Dex!” Chowder waves. “You looking ‘swawesome man!” 

Dex sighs and rolls his eyes. “Your girlfriend is actually the worst,” he grumbles, coming to a stop by the speakers Chowder is messing with. “You get this hooked up?” He’s determinedly not looking around the room. The look on Nursey’s face is the _last_  thing he needs to see right now. Or his stupid ass in his stupid costume. 

“You love her,” Chowder smirks. “I think it’s great that you and Nursey are doing a couples costume!” 

“Don’t give me that C, I know you were involved in this.” Chowder just grins down at his phone, watching Spotify load. “Did Ransom give you access to [the playlist?](https://play.spotify.com/user/12162425621/playlist/7aXr8yy5Nzx33DAr6ZIzLw)”

“Chyeah.” Chowder has the audacity to _wink_  at him, before pressing play and pocketing the phone. “Make good choices,” he says, which is totally random and does not make any sense, but Chowder walks away before he can even respond. 

He figures it out later, when he’s a couple beers deep and leaning against the closest wall. Nursey, it seems, has consumed way more tub juice than any single human should be allowed, his dancing some kind of mix between filthy and drunkenly awkward. The songs bumping through the house have grown progressively more sexual and older at the same time, perfectly lining up with the stages of drunkenness the sorority girls dancing in the living room have gone through. Dex is pretty proud of himself really. He’s managed to tactfully avoid all the drunk people trying to touch his abs, he got a number from a girl from the rugby team (and hey, maybe he’ll call her if he can get over the fact he’s half in love with his fucking d-man), _and_  he’s managed to keep at least a ten person barrier between himself and Nursey at all times. All good choices, he thinks.

“I need you.” Cait is back, wrapping her fingers around his wrist and pulling. 

“What? No, come on, this is so-” He stops mid sentence as a song he hasn’t heard since elementary school starts bumping through the speakers. “ _No_.” Cait’s smirking, and still dragging him through the crowd, and they’re heading right towards Nursey. Who is of _course_ , trying his best to dance seductively to Candy Shop. On top of the coffee table. In his bunny onesie.

Fuck his life, honestly. 

“Derek!” Cait yells over the music, waving to get his attention. Nursey smiles at her, his grin widening when he spots Dex. Dex kind of wishes Chowder were here (which where even is he? Suspicious.), so that he could point out that all the bad decisions are being made by _his_  girlfriend. Not Dex. 

“Yo,” Nursey drawls, stepping dangerously close to the edge of the table. Dex kind of wants to grab him and help him down, but there’s a lot of bare skin and Nursey’s handsy as fuck when he’s drunk, and he really doesn’t need this right now. “I heard all hockey players have big dicks.” Nursey thrusts his hips for emphasis, and Dex _might_  have punched him if his stupid bunny costume didn’t choose the moment to split from the deep v-neck all the way down to his crotch.

“I hate you so much,” Dex hisses at Cait, who kind of looks like Christmas just came early. Resolutely not staring at Nursey’s thankfully brief-clad crotch, he grabs his arm and pulls him down to the floor. Nursey seems utterly unperturbed by his wardrobe malfunction. In fact, there’s a large probability that he’ll be wandering around in just his briefs later on anyways.

“I need to take a picture of you guys!” Cait giggles, phone already up and ready. Nursey of course hams it up for the camera, placing one hand on Dex’s chest and pouting over his own shoulder, wiggling his ass and stupid little fluffy tail. 

Dex wants to die.

And then Nursey’s other hand slides across his stomach, pulling the bottom of the cropped jersey up as far as it can go. Dex groans and covers his face with his hand, hoping to god that maybe he’ll end up blacking out and forget this ever happened. 

Instead, because of course things can’t be easy, he has to go into mother hen mode and try to take care of Nursey. Which is going to be difficult, seeing as Nursey is currently trying to grind up on him to the dulcet tones of 50 Cent. 

“Dude,” Dex sighs, pushing at Nursey’s chest. He’s met with bare skin, which is _horrible_  really, but he leaves his hand there anyways. The alternative would be Nursey’s dance moves. And no, he’s had enough mortification for one night. “Your costume’s all ripped, let’s get you into some clothes.”

“Don’t wanna,” Nursey pouts, his lips all shiny from the spit and the tub juice and one of his dumb bunny ears flopping over his face. 

“Everyone’s going to be able to see your dick.” It might be a _bit_  of an exaggeration, but it’s still possible. Plus, drunk people can kind of be assholes when it comes to personal space. Case in point, the way Nursey’s practically draped on top of him. Nursey’s grinning though, his eyes all unfocused.

“Do you wanna-” Dex slaps a hand over his mouth before he can finish that statement, but the eyebrow waggle provides more than enough context clues. 

“Come on, let’s go change, then you can come back down here and do whatever the fuck you want, alright?” 

Nursey nods and lets Dex basically carry him up the stairs, moving his shoulders along to he beat of the music. Dex sits Nursey down on the bottom bunk once they get into the attic, quickly pulling off his jersey and pads before pulling on a t-shirt. When he turns back to Nursey his eyes are drooping, and he’s staring longingly at his pillow.

“Dude, you can go to sleep if you want,” Dex offers, stepping hesitantly closer. Nursey stares blankly at him for a moment, thick lashes blinking slowly.

“Don’t wan’ be ‘lone,” he mumbles finally, bottom lip trembling slightly. His bunny ears quiver too.

What did Dex ever do to deserve this kind of torture?

“I’ll stay with you, okay?” He sighs, staring at the spot over Nursey’s shoulder. “We can catch up on New Girl. Just take off that stupid costume.” Nursey grins, wide and honest, and Dex is so, so, fucked.

He wakes up the next morning with a headache, Nursey’s head on his chest and an arm full of pins and needles. His phone buzzes on the floor, and he stretches for it, glaring at the number of notifications filling his screen. He zeroes in on the one that says “caitfarmer96 tagged you in a photo”. Resigning himself to his fate, he slides it across the screen. It takes a second for the photo to load, but the captain says “they’re so cute when they get along″, and Dex just _knows_. He sighs as his own blushing face comes into view, hidden behind one hand. Nursey’s the star of the show anyway, with his ass-cheeks hanging out of the bottom his shorts, and his shoulders too broad for the costume’s flimsy fabric. Nursey isn’t smoldering at Cait like Dex assumed he was when the picture was taken, instead he’s staring up at Dex, eyes all soft and a fond smile on his lips. 

Dex quietly sets his phone back down on the floor and glances at the still softly sleeping Nursey. Nursey sighs loudly and rolls towards the wall. Dex stares at his back for a minute, considering the _rules_  and that fact that maybe he should get up and crawl back into his bunk. But he thinks about the picture, about the way Nursey looked at him last night, and decides that going back to sleep right here should be just fine. 


	3. You're Missing What is Right Before Your Eyes

“I don’t think the costume worked,” Nursey moans into his slice of pumpkin pie. The kitchen is a tad bit too warm, with the air outside unseasonably fair and Bitty producing pies like a well oiled machine. It’s okay though, it adds to the slightly miserable atmosphere that Nursey’s going for. Bitty’s kind of smirking at him, which is not at all fair, but whatever. Nursey knows he’s pathetic. He’s accepted it at this point.

“I don’t know about that,” Bitty says, sliding _another_  pie out of the oven. He has a French midterm on Monday, which is probably why there’s so much pie. And flash cards scattered across the counter. “There’s always next weekend anyways.” 

Nursey huffs and shovels another bite of pie into his mouth. Halloween falling on a Monday means that there’s _two_  weekends full of Halloween parties. Normally, he’d be all in on this, but all he wants is to get William Poindexter to notice that he’s pining his ass off over here. Or well… he only wants Dex to notice if Dex is pining too. Because if he’s not, then that’s mad awkward. 

“I’m never dressing up again,” Nursey says around a mouthful of pie.

“Thank _god_.” 

He freezes at the sound of that voice, whipping around to find Dex marching into the kitchen. Dex looks… he looks _mad_. Well, he looks good, black t-shirt that used to fit loose on him freshman year stretched tight across his chest and around his arms, faded jeans worn soft and practically molded to his ass. It’s sinful. But that’s besides the point, because his jaw is tight and his nostrils are flared and his hands are curled into fists. 

“I’ve about had it with those assholes across the street,” Dex growls, stomping over to the window by the sink and glaring at the LAX house. 

“What did they do this time?” Bitty asks gently, shuffling through his index cards as if he’s actually going to study.

“They-” Dex stops himself, teeth clicking together. His eyes flick to Nursey, so quick Nursey would have missed it if he wasn’t _staring_. Dex takes a deep breath through his nose, some of the tension visibly easing in his shoulders. “The usual,” he mutters, obviously trying as hard as he can not to look at Nursey again. “Just being enormous assholes.” 

Nursey pushes the chair across from him out with his foot, wiggling the pie he’s currently eating right out of the pan towards the center of the table. He doesn’t expect the way Dex’s entire face softens, and he definitely doesn’t expect the small sideways smile he gets for his efforts. Dex pulls his bottom lip between his teeth as he sits down, and Nursey is mesmerized, enough so that he doesn’t even protest when Dex steals the fork from right between his fingers. All he can think about is the fact that Dex is putting something in his mouth that was just in Nursey’s mouth, and he’s not even making a big deal about wiping it off. Heat starts to curl low in his stomach, and it’s pretty fucking embarrassing that sharing spit in the most innocuous way possible is getting him all hot. Thankfully his dark skin doesn’t show blushes the way Dex’s does. His chill reputation would be blown right out of the water. 

“We need a plan,” Dex says, after he’s thoroughly chewed and swallowed his bite of pie. It’s kind of funny, how Dex has better table manners than anyone he’s ever known. But he _has_  met Dex’s mother, and it’s honestly not all that surprising.

“Like what?” Nursey asks, taking the fork from Dex and scooping up some more pie. He can feel Bitty watching him, but he doesn’t dare look over there. Bitty’s sass has no room in a conversation like this.

“I dunno… we need to like egg their house or something,” Dex hums, snatching the fork back. 

“Y’all better not touch my eggs,” Bitty warns. Dex rolls his eyes, and Nursey can’t help but smile.

‘We could TP their house,” he suggests.

“Nah, that shit is way to expensive\ to waste on their asses.” Dex shakes his head, popping another bite of pie into his mouth. A little whipped cream sticks to his bottom lip, and it takes all Nursey has not to lean across the table and lick it off. “Do I have something on my face?” Dex says, and Nursey flinches slightly, fiercely ignoring the snort that came from Bitty’s corner of the kitchen. Nursey glares at him, hoping he’ll remember to chirp Bits extra hard the next time Jack stops by.

“Nah sorry man, zoned out,” he lies, unable to look away when Dex’s tongue flicks out and sweeps the whipped cream away. “We could always do the plastic wrap thing,” he adds, hoping it will distract Dex enough. “I mean, that stuffs not cheap, but I’ll buy.” He doesn’t say that he’d do anything Dex wanted him to do, but well, he’s got a reputation to maintain here.

“What do you mean?” Dex’s brow furrows, like it does when he’s working on a project for one of his CS classes. It’s kind of cute. Nursey hates it. (No he doesn’t).

“You know…” He tips back in his chair, carefully balancing himself with his thighs pressed up against the bottom of the table. “Like, put it across their doorways, and wrap their cars. That kinda shit.”

“ _Dude_.” Dex’s eyes are practically glowing, like honey or whiskey or the sun shining through a glass bottle of maple syrup. Nursey hates it. (No he doesn’t).

* * *

“I feel like this is a little unnecessary,” Nursey groans, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It’s five in the morning. On a Sunday. “What am I getting out of this?” He pulls on the black sweats Dex had laid out for him the night before, along with a black long sleeve shirt. 

“A sense of accomplishment for successfully make the LAX bro’s morning hell,” Dex says, his voice clear and much too chipper for the ass crack of dawn. “Also quality time with me.”  

“So are you saying we can cuddle after?” Nursey teases, trying to make a joke even though he kind of wants to be real.

“If you’re good,” Dex says, pulling a black baseball hat on backwards to cover his hair. Nursey resolutely ignores the way those words make his entire body go hot. 

They meet Chowder and Farmer down in the living room, both dressed in black with their arms loaded up with rolls of cling wrap and packing tape.

“Okay,” Dex whispers, taking some of the boxes from Chowder. “You and Cait are in charge of the cars, that way you guys can escape if we get caught. Don’t want either of you getting in trouble.” Cait rolls her eyes, but doesn’t say anything. She does smirk at Nursey though, which is just unnecessary and annoying.  “Nurse and I will do the doorways and stuff. Sound good?”

“Aye aye captain,” Chowder chirps, both him and Cait saluting Dex with big grins on their faces. They are actually the worst. Dex however, seems to take them seriously, turning a questioning gaze on Nursey as if he’s expecting him to salute too. Which no. Not in a million years is that happening. Unless it’s with a middle finger.

“I’m following you,” he says instead, motioning towards the door. That seems to satisfy Dex, who nods once and heads for the door. 

The whole scene is a little dramatic, though it’s mostly made so by the way Chowder and Cait are darting between cars and hiding behind bushes like they’re in some cheesy spy flick. Nursey joins them, if only to see the way Dex rolls his eyes and huffs at their antics. But then Dex just starts marching towards the LAX house, bold as anything in the eerie light of the early dawn. It’s kind of hot, actually, but Nursey doesn’t have much time to really think on that because Chowder is grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him along.

As could be expected, Dex starts whisper shouting at Nursey about thirty seconds into their first door. It shouldn’t be that hard, just stretch the cling wrap across the door and tape it. But they argue about the height, and how many layers to use, and how much tape to use, and by the time they finish one single door, Cait and Chowder have already moved on to the second car. 

They manage to move on to the other doors of the house, putting plastic wrap at head level and down by foot level too. The porch goes last, and with only minor bickering they manage to cover the whole top of the steps with the rest of the cling wrap they have left. 

Cait and Chowder have already returned to the Haus, undoubtedly setting up a blanket fort near the windows so they can all watch the prank unfold. But Dex is admiring their work, a look of smug satisfaction on his lips lit up by the early morning sun. He looks beautiful like this, bathed in soft yellow light, his breaths showing up as little puffs of air in the cool morning. Nursey can’t stop staring at the little tiny freckles that dot his nose, and the dimple that appears in his left cheek when he smiles like this. He’s still staring when Dex turns and looks at him, and is unable to stop, not with Dex’s eyes so soft and warm and that smirk still on his face.

“Do I have something on my face?” Dex asks again, just like he did the previous day. This time, Nursey can’t even bring himself to respond, one hand moving with out permission to curl around Dex’s jaw. “What-”

His question is cut off by the LAX house front door slamming open, followed by an obnoxious chuckle. If Nursey wasn’t so entranced by Dex, he probably would’ve rolled his eyes. But well… sometimes he has a one track mind, alright?

“Told you Nurse was a man-whore,” the LAX bro sneers - Chad F., probably. “Though it makes sense now why you flipped your lid, didn’t realize you two assholes were fucking.” 

Dex’s jaw clenches beneath Nursey’s hand, nostrils flaring and his eyes going cold. He leans in and kisses Nursey, _hard_ , before pulling back and turning to face the LAX house head on. 

“You’re not the fucking hook-up police, Flint,” Dex spits, his mouth lifting into a mean sneer. “Maybe you’re just pissed that Nurse turned you down last year.” Nursey frowns at Dex. He’s pretty sure that _never_  happened, but there’s some spluttering coming from the LAX house that sounds like it might have. Which… well, he could of been drunk, or something, and he does get hit on pretty regularly, but he has no idea how Dex would even know that either. 

“Hey fuck you Poindexter you ugly ass ginger-” Nursey watches as Chad F. storms forward right into the plastic wrap. The tape holds and he falls back, swearing, with murder in his eyes. “What the fuck is this!” He yells, and Nursey can faintly hear the slamming around that means the rest of the LAX bros have been awakened. And boy will they be pissed. It’s 6:30am on a Sunday morning. No one would be happy about that.

So Nursey grabs Dex hand and pulls, breaking into a run as chaos erupts behind them. Dex is laughing as they stumble through the front door, locking it behind them. They race over to the pile of blankets and couch cushions Cait and Chowder have amassed on the floor in front of the windows, plopping down to enjoy the show. 

Nursey is well aware of the _look_  Chowder is giving him, eyebrows raised and smile pulling at his lips. It’s uncanny, how similar of an expression it is to the one Bitty makes on the reg. Kind of weird, honestly. So Nursey ignores him and scoots a little bit closer to the window, watching as the LAX bros fight their way through the yards of cling wrap surrounding their house. He absolutely does not think about the fact that William J Poindexter just kissed him, on the mouth, in the middle of the LAX bros’ lawn on a Sunday morning. He does not.

(He does. Oh, he does.)


	4. No One's Gonna Stick The Pieces Together For You

They haven’t talked about it.

Will Poindexter kissed Derek Nurse on October 23rd, 2016, and nobody is talking about it. And by nobody, Nursey means Dex. And by talking about it, he means that they’ve gone back to pretending like it never happened. Just like Dex never said anything about them falling asleep in his bunk together after the Hallo-Haus Party. 

The thing is, Nursey _wants_  to talk about it, and maybe repeat it, because he definitely can’t stop thinking about _it_. There was nothing romantic about the way Dex had kissed him, but he has committed the press of his lips and the feel of his fingers against his jaw to memory. He wants to find out what Dex’s mouth tastes like, wants to bite hickeys onto every inch of that pale throat.

Instead, he gets to watch Dex’s jaw tick as they battle through the regular Friday afternoon traffic that seems to bring Samwell to a halt. It’s almost worse, really, because Nursey never knew he had any feelings whatsoever about stick shifts or boys that drive trucks, but apparently watching Dex do both gets him all hot and bothered. If they had like, _talked_ , then maybe Nursey could be sitting in the middle seat. Maybe he could have his hand on Dex’s his thigh, could be running his fingers through Dex’s hair while kissing his neck.

But because apparently _talking_  isn’t something that William Poindexter wants to do, Nursey gets to sit here and suffer in silence.

“We could just go to Murder Stop and Shop and just get some apples dude.” Okay, so maybe not in silence, but the suffering is still a thing. “There’s no way Bits can tell the difference.” 

That statement gets him a _look_ , but he doesn’t even care because he’s finally got Dex’s attention back on him. “That may be true,” Dex starts, his lips curling in the corners. “But if he _can,_ and I have to hear one more time how great the apples he got with his _boyfriend_  last year were, and how he needs the exact same apples so he can make Jack, his _boyfriend,_ a pie, and that only _these_  apples will do for his _boyfriend_ , Jack Zimmermann... I’m going to freak out.” 

“He does say that a lot doesn’t he,” Nursey laughs, relaxing back into the passenger seat. “But I mean, if you were dating Jack Zimmermann, you’d probably talk about it a lot too.”

“Pfffff,” Dex huffs, swearing as some girl with a Delta Chi sticker on her back window cuts in front of them. “I’d be more excited about Bitty than Jack.”

“What, you like ‘em small and blonde?” Nursey shoots back, trying to ignore the way his stomach drops.

“Seriously,” Dex glares at him as he shifts, finally pulling out onto the open road. “I’m more thinking about the pies.”

“Dude,” Nursey grins. “That’s the smartest thing you’ve ever said.”

* * *

 

“So,” Nursey rocks back on his heels, absolutely _not_  staring at Dex’s ass as he climbs one of those sketchy ass ladders in an attempt to find the perfect apples for Bitty. It’s not his fault that Dex is wearing The Jeans, the ones that hug his ass like Nursey hugs the toilet bowl after a kegster. Shit. That was a terrible metaphor. “You uh, you got a date for the party tomorrow?”

“What the - fuck,” a few apples fall from the tree, and Nursey stoops to pick one up, cleaning it off with his shirt before taking a bite. “What kind of question is that? You know we’re all dressing up together dumb-ass.”

“Yeah but...” Nursey kicks at the ground, scowling when he ends up with mud on his white Nikes. “Just humor me, bro, you got a bunny on the line or anything?”

“The only _bunny_  I’ve been in contact with in the past week is your ridiculous ass.” The leaves rustle up above, and Dex’s head pops out, face all scowly and cute. “Or did you forget about the costume you decided to don last week?”

Nursey grins up at him, unable to think of a suitable chirp with the late afternoon sunlight lighting Dex’s hair up in reds and golds, his eyes like honey. He looks beautiful, like there should be paintings in museums of this moment in time.

“Aw, you want me to be your puck bunny Dexy?” Nursey sings, grinning delightedly when Dex’s ears immediately turn red and a flush starts to spread down his cheeks.

“Shut the fuck up,” he grumbles, disappearing back into the tree.

“You’re cute when you blush,” Nursey calls. Dex sticks one hand out through the branches to flip him off.

Nursey is so, so screwed.

* * *

 

“It’s a little embarrassing that we just attempted to pay for a bag of fucking apples with a one hundred dollar bill,” Dex grumbles, apples in question tucked securely in the crook of his arm. “Why would Bitty do that? I didn’t even look at the cash he gave me I just took it. Now we look like some kind of pretentious assholes.”

“Bitty did say that his boyfriend, Jack, really wanted the apples.” Nursey grins when Dex huffs, pressing their shoulders together just because he can. “Probably where he got the hunny.”

“Did you really just say _hunny_ , Nurse? You are just...” Dex doesn’t finish his sentence, but when Nursey glances at him, he finds Dex just, looking back. There’s this soft smile on his face, and his eyes are all crinkled and sparkly, and Nursey really, really wants to kiss him. “Unbelievable,” Dex breathes, finally. 

“Hashtag same Poindexter,” Nursey smirks, just to see the way Dex’s nose crinkles right before he rolls his eyes. 

“I hate you,” Dex grumbles, quickening his steps and stomping off towards his truck. As always, Nursey is helpless to do anything but follow.

* * *

 

“You know,” Dex says later, a half eaten apple pie sitting between them on the kitchen table. Nursey can hear the soft murmur of Jack and Chowder’s voices out in the living room, and the rush of water through the pipes as Bitty starts a wash down in the basement. His and Dex’s legs are tangled beneath the table, both of their bodies loose from the six pack they’d split. “I’m not like, interested in um, _any_  puck bunnies.” Dex pauses, taking another sip of beer. “Or like, anyone else, except uh...” He looks up at Nursey through his lashes, eyes a little unfocused but full of vulnerability. Once again, Nursey wants to kiss him, but this moment seems to delicate for that.

“Yeah?” he asks, hooking his ankles more firmly around Dex’s as he grins.

Dex’s answering smile is gorgeous, like watching the sunrise over the ocean or something. “Yeah.”


	5. Bite Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dex goes trick or treating ;)

The first thing Dex thinks about when he wakes up Saturday morning is Nursey. That in of it self isn’t all that unusual, seeing as they shared the attic and more often than not Nursey is snoring or moaning or something equally as weird in his sleep. But this morning Dex wakes up smiling, thinking about the way Nursey’s eyes had shined as his mouth curved around that _yeah_ , how their hands had brushed when they finally went to bed last night, and butterflies had fluttered in Dex’s stomach. He turns his head into his pillow in an attempt to smoother the grin he can’t seem to get rid of. It’s kind of embarrassing, really. What’s more embarrassing is he can’t stop thinking about climbing down into the bottom bunk. Nursey is cuddly in the mornings, he’d probably curl around Dex like some kind of octopus. Everything would be all warm and soft, and maybe they would kiss. And those soft, sleepy kisses would turn heated fast, with Nursey climbing on top of him, all hard muscles and miles of tattooed skin. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Dex hisses, opening his eyes and thinking _very_  hard about his grandmother and her cute little apron with roosters on it. The last thing he needs right now is a raging hard-on while laying three feet above the very person he’d been fantasizing about. But he’s still grinning, and he doesn’t want to be sitting here smiling like an idiot when Nursey wakes up, so he climbs out of bed as quietly as he can. Nursey is a heavy sleeper anyways, so he doesn’t wake as Dex pulls on a pair of shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. 

* * *

 

He’s always been pretty good at running away from his problems (or running _at_  them), and today he’s going to do it quite literally. It’s a little overcast but it’s warmer than it has been outside, so Dex takes his time. It’s not like he’s avoiding the Haus or anything, not on purpose, it’s just that he really has no idea what to do next. Sure, he’s dated people before, but there was never so much complicated history he’s had to navigate. And like, they basically admitted their feelings, but they didn’t _do_  anything about it. Dex kind of thought that Nursey would just... take the lead on this, but _clearly_  he’s more interested in sleeping and being an all around pain in the ass to really do much at all.

He manages to stay annoyed for all of thirty seconds, before his mind drifts to the way Nursey sprawled in the passenger seat of his truck yesterday afternoon, all long limbs and soft eyes. He looked like he belonged there, and Dex had wanted to do anything but drive back to the Haus. He would have killed for them to be up in Maine, where he could drive Nursey down some back roads until the sun set and the stars came out. There’s blankets behind the seat of his truck specifically for occasions like this. Dex is a master of that country boy charm, and Derek Nurse wouldn’t know what hit him.

By the time he makes it back to the Haus, he’s sweaty and completely lost in day dreams that feature Nursey’s lips and hands and skin. Jack’s in the kitchen when he gets back, the newspaper open in front of him with a steaming cup of coffee. Dex is so lost in his thoughts he can’t even come up with a decent chirp about the newspaper (honestly what the fuck Jack?), just heads to the fridge and grabs a bottle of water. He starts chugging it down, almost spitting it all over the place when he turns around and realizes that Nursey’s sitting at the table too.

Shirtless.

And sleepy eyed.

Dex manages to swallow the water that’s in his mouth, but cannot for the life of him keep his ears from burning red. But then Nursey sends this sleepy little half smile in his direction, and he’s just... done. 

“Mornin’,” Nursey mumbles, eyes not leaving Dex as he brings his own cup of coffee to his lips. “You look hot.” Jack’s newspaper rustles, and Nursey makes this _face_ , like he fucked up. “I mean, sweaty, not like...” 

Jack lowers the newspaper and squints, before this unsettling dad-like smirk settles over his face. “Do I need to give you two some privacy?”

“No _Dad_ ,” Dex huffs, sucking down the rest of his water before tossing the bottle towards the trash. “Just go back to reading your paper.” 

“Put that bottle in the recycling!” Jack laughs as Dex goes to stomp up to the attic. “You know how Chowder gets about that.”

Dex sighs and puts the bottle in the correct spot, unable to keep the smile off his face. “Such a dad,” he mutters, pleased to see that Jack is grinning widely at him. He makes the mistake of glancing back at Nursey, face going hot again when he finds dark eyes and parted lips and... Dex really, really needs to go. 

It’s not that he tries to avoid Nursey for the rest of the day, he just... can’t manage to be in a room with him for more than five minutes without his face turning red and his body getting all lose and his laugh coming too easy like some kind of terrible cliche. Chowder keeps smirking and typing furiously on his phone, and once he definitely took a picture when Nursey leaned over the back of the couch to whisper in Dex’s ear and Dex’s face turned brilliantly red (there was no need to whisper anyways, but the vibrations of Nursey’s voice did against his ear did _things_  to Dex). 

By the time darkness falls he’s more than wound up, so much so that the beer he shotgunned with Nursey and the shot of UV Blue he took with Chowder aren’t doing anything to calm him down. Nursey isn’t in their bedroom though, when he goes up to get dressed for the party, which is probably a good thing. All the hausmates were dressing up together for this party (mostly since Cait was dressing up with some of the other volleyball girls as teenage mutant ninja turtles, and Chowder had whined about not knowing what to do with himself). That was all well and good, until Bitty brought up the fact that apparently there were tons of group costumes down in the basement from SMH team members past. They unearthed costumes ranging from the Spice Girls to Super Mario Brothers, but obviously Bitty had to settle on the set with the shortest shorts. So needless to say, no one needed to witness Dex attempting to squeeze himself into the most ridiculous khaki shorts he’s ever laid eyes on. It didn’t even make sense, that they’d  _all_  be Lt. Dangle from Reno 911, but Dex is almost as afraid of Bitty as he is off Cait Farmer, so he’s not about to question anything.

“Dex!” Chowder’s yell startles him in the midst of attempting to get The Shorts up over his thighs, and he almost tips over right then and there. “Me and Bitty are heading over to help the girls get set up!”

“Okay!” Dex yells back, jumping a little like the girls in the movies do when they’re trying to pull on their jeans. “I’ll be there in a bit!” The shorts slide home with one last tug, though they are uncomfortably tight... everywhere, really. Huffing, he grabs his own personal pair of aviators and slides them on, stepping to the left to look at himself in the mirror that hangs from their closet door. (It’s Nursey’s obviously. Dex has no desire to look at himself in the mirror in general, never mind a full length one). The costume is... flattering, in a kind of weird way, though he’s not all that comfortable having this much thigh on display. At least he won’t be doing this alone.

Speaking of which... where the fuck is Nursey?

Slipping his feet into a pair of black sneakers and hastily slinging the cheap black holster around his hips, he jogs down the stairs, grimacing at the way the cheap fabric of the costume tightens around his thighs with every step. The kitchen is empty, lights off except for the Christmas lights strung over the sink. It’s actually kind of eerie, with the smell of apple cinnamon and the joyous sound of Bitty’s laugh. He heads out into the living room, frowning at the back of Nursey’s head peeking over the back of the couch. 

“You ready to go dude?” He asks, hoovering in the doorway. Nursey doesn’t appear to move, so Dex edges his way into the room, ending up shifting awkwardly in front of the couch. Nursey looks... Nursey looks indecent, legs splayed too wide for his own tiny shorts, and uniform knotted above his belly button like some sorority girl dressing up like a sexy cop. Not to mention the trail of heat Nursey’s eyes leave as they drag slowly up Dex’s body, his teeth pulling at his bottom lip.

Dex’s shorts are getting tighter by the second.

Somewhere deep inside him, he finds his last nerve, letting his hips jut out slightly and his face arrange into an expression he hopes is somewhere near seductive. “Trick or treat?” He asks, blushing when his voice comes out even throatier than he intended. 

Nursey grins, dirty, sending thrills down Dex’s spine and his toes curling in his shoes. “Treat, definitely treat,” Nursey says, leaning forward until his fingers curl around the gun holster. He tugs Dex toward him, pulling gently until Dex finally gives in and sinks down onto the couch, knees tucked tight against the outside of Nursey’s thighs.

“I don’t think these shorts were made for this,” Dex mumbles, trying to ignore the heat he can feel lighting up his cheeks and crawling down his neck. Nursey just hums, his hands light as they slide around Dex’s hips and up his back. “Like, they might just rip,” Dex continues, well aware that he never talks this much and unable to get himself to stop. He reaches for his sunglasses, tossing them in the vague direction of the coffee table behind him. “So like, fair warning and all that. I think Chowder gave me a size too small on purpose, because yours don’t look this tight. I mean, they’re tight, but not like this I think-”

“Dex,” Nursey cuts him off, the expression on his face warring between fond and down right seductive. “Can I kiss you?” He’s looking up at Dex through his lashes, his eyes that hypnotic green in the dim living room lights. Dex can’t help but push his fingers into Nursey’s curls, heart stuttering in his chest as he processes the fact that Derek Nurse, The Derek Nurse, #1 on Samwell’s Most Beautiful this year, wants to kiss _him_. Nursey raises his eyebrows, and Dex realizes he’s been staring, and probably making some kind of weird face while doing so.

“ _Yeah_ ,” he breathes, swallowing hard when Nursey tilts his chin up, waiting. Dex blinks, because holy _shit_ , this is really, actually happening. Then he takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and goes for it. 

Their noses bump and then their lips touch, and for a second, that’s all it is. But then Nursey sighs and tilts his head, one big hand curling around the back of Dex’s neck and holding him close. Nursey’s tongue brushes against Dex’s bottom lip, and finally he gets with the program, parting his lips and sinking the rest of the way down in Nursey’s lap. The kiss turns heated within seconds, sloppy and wet and obscene. Dex groans and presses even closer, dick already uncomfortably hard in his shorts. He trails kisses down Nursey’s jaw, humming when Nursey tilts his head back and swears. He sucks on Nursey’s throat until Nursey’s hips buck up beneath him, their dicks pressing together and pulling a low moan from deep within Dex’s chest.

“You’re so hot,” Nursey says, breathlessly pulling Dex’s face back up to his.

“Have you seen yourself? Fuck,” Dex swears, taking just a moment to take in the red puffiness of Nursey’s lips and the bruise already blooming on his neck. His dick throbs in his shorts. He considers unbuttoning them, but that would mean he’d have to stop touching Nursey, and that’s not about to happen. Before he can think about it any more Nursey pulls him back down, biting at his chin before sucking sloppy kisses along the bottom of his jaw. Nursey’s stubble scrapes against his own just on the right side of painful, surely leaving behind obvious beard burn. Dex doesn’t care though, to busy trying his best to get his hips into a rhythm as they roll against Nursey.

“Jesus fuck Poindexter,” Nursey swears, one hand clamping down on his hip in an attempt to slow him down maybe, or urge him on. It’s hard to tell with the fact that Nursey doesn’t seem to be doing anything. “I’m gonna come in these stupid shorts if you keep it up.” 

“ _Good_ ,” Dex breathes, pushing his hands up beneath Nursey’s shirt and pressing there mouths together. The kissing and the touching turns frantic, with Nursey ripping at Dex’s shirt and Dex moaning into his mouth, their hips stuttering against each other without ever really finding a rhythm. Nursey’s hands are like brands against Dex’s back, pulling him down harder, fingers pressing against the knobs of his spine. 

Dex slips one hand between them, pressing blindly against the bulge in Nursey’s shorts. He wants to see him, wants to _taste_  him, but right now he just wants to know what he sounds like when he comes. It doesn’t take long, just the firm press of Dex’s hand against his dick and a little bit of hair tugging, and Nursey goes rigid, his body bowing up against Dex. He bites down on Dex’s lip in the process, and the sharp edge of pain sends Dex tumbling over the edge, his own body going tense and fingers curling hard into Nursey’s hair and his shirt. 

“Holy shit,” Dex whispers against the side of Nursey’s neck, his skin damp from Dex’s breathes and tongue. “Holy fucking shit.”

“Yeah,” Nursey breathes, his soft hands sliding up and down Dex’s back. It makes Dex want to melt into him, makes him want to fall asleep right here on Nursey’s chest, but he’s wearing ridiculous shorts that are not only restrictive but now absolutely disgusting.

“I think the shorts are ruined,” he mumbles, shifting back slightly and wrinkling his nose at the wetness. 

“I think we should skip the party,” Nursey says, his hands sliding down around Dex’s waist, thumbs pressing against the vee of his hips. “You can trick or treat your way right into my bed.”

“Oh my _god_ ,” Dex groans, attempting to climb off of Nursey and the couch and failing miserably. “You are the worst person I’ve ever met.” Nursey just grins up at him, as if there’s not wet spots showing through the crotch of his shorts and hickeys blooming on his neck. Dex can’t help but lean down and kissing him, their teeth clacking as they both smile against each others mouths. 

“You still like me though, don’t you?” Nursey asking, shifting forward on the couch and somehow sending them both toppling to the floor. Dex stares up at him, with his stupid face and his stupid eyes and his stupid hair.

“Yeah,” he sighs, aware that a stupid smile is spreading across his own face. “I really, really do.”

* * *

 

##  **GROUP CHAT: SKWAD**

**Dex:** something came up, me and nurse aren’t gonna make it to the party

**Nursey** : by something, he means my dick ;)

**Dex:** why are you like this

**Cait:** GET SOME DEX! ;p

**Chowder:** WAIT REALLY

**Chowder:** THIS MEANS ITS JUST ME AND BITTY DRESSED LIKE THIS

**Chowder** : TANGO IS A NO SHOW TOO WTF

**Chowder:** like I’m happy for you guys but like wtf

**Chowder:** wut happened to got your back huh?

**Chowder:** also NO SEX ON THE COUCH I HAVE TO TAKE MY NAPS THERE

**Nursey:** too late bro

**Dex:** Nursey why

**Cait:** 8======D ~~~~~~

**Dex:** oh my GOD

**Chowder:** i hate you all. BAI

**Author's Note:**

> I can be found crying about omgcp and jamie benn on [tumblr](http://dexsnursey.tumblr.com)
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
